Some of the world’s largest brands, professional athletes, world-renowned entertainers, sporting events, rightsholders and governing bodies have long turned to Armstrong Teasdale for counsel in all aspects of global brand management and protection, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts (including endorsements and sponsorship opportunities) and the handling of complex litigation.
Our lawyers have decades of experience in the sports, media and entertainment sector, including as former licensed sports agents, personal counsel to professional athletes, in-house counsel for iconic Fortune 500 brands, event organizers, and even professional film and stage actors, musicians and dancers who have a deep understanding of the business and some of the world’s preeminent, international player associations and studios alike. In addition, our lawyers have written articles and given interviews to international broadcast media on current sports law issues.
As such, our experienced lawyers are recognized as being at the forefront of the development of sports law in football, rugby, horse racing, cricket, golf, cycling, athletics, marathon running, motoracing and tennis, and have led groundbreaking work involving complex litigation on issues such as competition, ticketing and brand infringement.
Our team collectively has over 50 years’ experience providing legal advice in the following areas:
- Agent-Related Issues
- Ambush Marketing
- Anti-counterfeiting
- Anti-doping
- Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and E-sports
- Business Entity Formation
- Commercial Advice
- Competition Compliance (international competition laws; contests, sweepstakes, lotteries and loyalty programs)
- Contracts and Agreements
- Corporate (finance, sports governance, investments, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions)
- Data and Betting (protection policies, data exploitation, enforcement and licensing)
- Disputes and Litigation
- Emerging Companies and Startups
- Endorsement Arrangements, including name, image and likeness rights; and image rights corporate structures
- Endorsement Deals and Cause Marketing
- Estate Planning and Wealth Management
- Event Establishment, Structuring and Funding
- Event Hospitality
- Event Management
- Foundations and Philanthropic Pursuits
- Franchising and Distribution
- Immigration/Visa Issues
- Influencer and Blogger Relations
- Intellectual Property (copyright, trademark, licensing, enforcement; domain name recovery; trademark oppositions and infringement actions)
- Marketing and Advertising (sponsorship; endorsement; merchandising and licensing; copy and image clearance; regulatory clearances; agency work)
- Media (international media rights licenses for traditional, new and social media)
- Movie Production
- Naming Rights for Stadiums and Sports/Entertainment Facilities
- Outside Corporate Counsel
- Ownership Rights
- Procurement (rules; invitations to tender; bidding processes and award of contract)
- Product Claims and Packaging/Labeling
- Publishing
- Real Estate
- Regulatory Compliance and Interpretation (information sharing agreements; investigations; disciplinary procedures; integrity issues and corruption)
- Sponsorship Agreements
- Sports Governance
- Supply of Goods and Services
- Talent Representation and Management (player transfers; protection and exploitation issues; reputation management; defamation and privacy; disciplinary)
- Tax
- Ticketing
- Websites and E-Commerce (including terms and conditions, privacy and cookie policies and consumer law)
- Web3, Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs), Metaverse and Collectibles
Outside Corporate Counsel Services
Given the increasing complexity of the contemporary business environment and the rapid pace of regulatory changes, legal issues can spark reputational disasters, affect customer sentiment and coordination, and expose an individual or company to significant legal risk. Employing outside corporate counsel can drive significant value by bringing different perspectives and niche experience to the table on an as-needed basis. It is an efficient, effective alternative to full-time in-house counsel for both established and growing companies. Armstrong Teasdale’s lawyers serve as outside corporate counsel to athletes, sporting events, rightsholders and entertainers in matters across a range of industries. We provide scalable legal advice, whether in an on-call capacity, a case-by-case basis, or with more robust, on-site support when needs are intensive.
